Mortgage rates spiked abruptly last week after several economic reports showed the economy doing better than expected. Now this week, key inflation data showed prices falling faster than expected. Rates responded with a full recovery despite giving up some of the improvement on Friday after strong Consumer Sentiment data.
If rates could only choose one thing to be afraid of, it would be inflation. Rates are based on bonds. Bonds offer investors a fixed schedule of cash flow. Over time, inflation can make that cash buy much less “stuff” than it did at first. Investors compensate by demanding higher rates of return, and that is essentially the short version of the great post-covid rate spike.
Up until this week, the most closely-watched inflation metric had been consolidating in an increasingly narrow, sideways pattern, but still at elevated levels. While it’s only one month of data, this is the promising breakout that fans of low rates have been hoping to see. In one fell swoop, the monthly pace of inflation is back at the lowest levels since early 2021.
Year-over-year inflation is also looking good, especially when energy and food prices are factored into the mix (blue line below):
The chart above illustrates the predicament for policymakers. The Fed sets short term rates in an attempt to constrain the economy and push inflation back to an annual pace of 2%. They focus on core inflation (orange line). As seen in the chart, we’re still quite a ways from 2%, and it will take another year of reports like the one we just saw before we’re back in that range. So the Fed has to decide if the current level of the Fed Funds Rate is enough to get us there with certainty.
On that note, the market expects the Fed to hike at least one more time in 2 weeks, but then to be even more heavily dependent on economic data. Looking ahead to the market expectations for the December Fed meeting, we can already see the Consumer Sentiment data push back against the positive impact from CPI.
Consumer Sentiment normally doesn’t compete with CPI when it comes to impacting rates, but this week’s report was very strong.
Longer term rates like 10yr Treasury yields followed a similar path to the Fed’s rate hike outlook this week, but they were more interested in the inflation data and less sensitive to the “yeah but” offered by the Consumer Sentiment data. Stocks were also more focused on CPI (and its implications for a friendlier Fed… a rising tide that tends to help stocks and bonds simultaneously).
In the bigger picture, yields are still very much in a holding pattern, but have notably made it back below the 3.84% level that had acted as a consistent ceiling up until last week.
Speaking of last week, the rate spike resulted in the Freddie Mac mortgage rate index jumping much higher this week, but don’t be alarmed. Freddie takes an average of the trailing 5 days. In terms of actual daily averages, rates fell sharply during the first four days of the week, and avoided losing too much ground on Friday.
Looking ahead, we’re in a bit of a summertime lull next week with none of the massively important economic reports seen over the past 2 weeks. It will also be the “blackout period” for the Fed. That refers to the 12 days leading up to a Fed announcement where Fed speakers abstain from commenting on policy. As such, the market sometimes speculates a bit more than it otherwise would about what the Fed is thinking, but that’s typically a bigger risk when the blackout period coincides with highly consequential data. Either way, this week’s gains are merely a start. It will take several more weeks–if not months–of economic data to conclusively shift rate momentum in a friendly direction.
The Black Knight Mortgage Monitor for May doesn’t even hint at a housing crisis on the horizon. Affordability is again (or maybe still) a concern, but buyers are out there, and home prices reflect that fact. Homeowners are performing well on their mortgages (and aren’t about to give up their low rates), and while the current report doesn’t touch on the subject, continue to build on their equity. In addition, builders are getting back in the game, shoring up hope of a lessening in the perennial shortage of available homes.
Home prices, which eased late last year have now risen for five straight months, completely reversing the earlier declines. Black Knight says its Home Price Index hit an all-time high, rising 0.7 percent from April to May. While the year-over-year growth rate is currently hovering at 0.1 percent, the May increase is equivalent to annualized growth of 8.9 percent. If the recent pattern continues, that annual growth rate may turn and begin trending higher as early as next month.
Twenty-seven of the 50 largest U.S. markets have returned to their previous price peaks or set new ones this spring. Even the West Coast, where some of the largest downward corrections happened last year, saw many of its markets reheat in May. San Jose was up 1.4 percent, Los Angeles rose 1.0 percent, and Seattle gained 0.9 percent. Austin, Texas is a major exception to the price hikes. The deficit from its peak continues to grow, reaching -13.8 percent in May.
“There is no doubt that the housing market has reignited from a home price perspective,” according to Black Knight Vice President Andy Walden. “Firming prices have now fully erased the pullback we tracked through the last half of 2022 and lifted the seasonally adjusted Black Knight HPI to a new record high in May.
This, of course, means that affordability is taking a hit, fueled by rising interest rates as well as home prices. As of June 22, with 30-year rates at 6.67 percent, it required $2,258 per month in principal and interest to make the monthly payment on a median-priced home, given 20 percent down on a 30-year mortgage. This exceeds the previous high of $2,234 required last October. Nationally, it takes 35.7 percent of median household income to make the average P&I payment. Only rising income since the fall of 2022 has kept May from being the most unaffordable month in the past 37 years.
Inventories continue to be the principal driver of home prices. For-sale listings have deteriorated in 95 percent of major markets this year and are at about half of pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, more than 60 percent of existing mortgage holders – and potential sellers – are sitting on first lien rates below 4 percent, with significant disincentive to list in this high-priced, low inventory, high-rate environment.
Still, prepayments (SMM or single-month mortality) rose by 23 percent in May to 0.54 percent, the highest level since September. Twenty-eight percent of prepayments were related to home sales, but all drivers rose by double digits. There were 22 business days in the month, two more than in April, which also accounted for a 10 percent increase in the SMM. Prepayments are still down 40 percent year-over-year.
Walden commented, “As it stands, housing affordability remains dangerously close to the 37-year lows reached late last year, despite the Federal Reserve’s attempts to cool the market. The challenge for the Fed now is to chart a path forward toward a ‘soft landing’ without reheating the housing market and reigniting inflation. But the same lever used to reduce demand – raising rates – has not only made housing unaffordable almost universally across major markets, but it has also resulted in significant supply shortages by discouraging potential sellers unwilling to list in such an environment, further strengthening prices. At this point, even if rates come down, but not so sharply as to entice potential sellers out of their sub-3.5 percent mortgages, it could risk a widespread reheating of home prices across the U.S.”
Walden sees welcome news in May’s residential construction data. “New construction starts and completions were both strong in May. However, most projects underway in the month were 5+ multi-family units, as opposed to single-family residential (SFR) units. SFRs made up just 40 percent of the total and is now at construction levels still approximately 30 percent below the 2005 peak.”
There is also good news on the mortgage delinquency front. The national delinquency rate fell 11 basis points (bps) in May to 3.10 percent, returning to a near-record low after a calendar-driven spike in April. The number of borrowers missing a single payment dropped by 94,000 or 9.5 percent erasing nearly half of the prior month’s increase. Loans 90 or more days past due, are down 30 percent year-over-year and within 1 percent of the post-Great Recession low in 2019.
The average 30-year-fixed mortgage continued to hover around the 2.86% mark for the week ending Sept. 16, according to Freddie Mac‘s latest PMMS survey. Mortgage rates have been around that mark for roughly two months, leading economists at Freddie Mac to liken it to “Groundhog Day.”
“The holding pattern in rates reflects the markets’ view that the prospects for the economy have dimmed somewhat due to the rebound in new COVID cases,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While our collective attention is on the pandemic, fundamental changes in the economy are occurring, such as increased migration, the extended continuation of remote work, increased use of automation, and the focus on a more energy efficient and resilient economy. These factors will likely lead to significant investment and new post-pandemic economic models that will spur economic growth.”
According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage was down slightly from last week’s 2.88% (with an average of 0.7 points). It averaged about 2.87% a year ago. The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.12% last week, a slight decline from the prior week’s 2.19%. A year ago, the average 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage was 2.35%.
Mortgage rates have struggled to reach 3% for much of 2021, despite widespread expectations they’d be in the mid-3s or higher by the third quarter. The Federal Reserve continues to make monthly asset purchases, driving the cost of lending down.
Although the central bank previously signaled that by November it would at least begin to taper its $120 billion in monthly purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities, the rise in COVID Delta variant cases has cast made that scenario much less likely.
Lenders – Now is the time to prioritize lead generation
HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Sarah Wheeler and Deluxe Senior Business Development Executive Mark McGuinn discuss the challenges lenders are facing to optimize lead generation, even as mortgage rates continue to drop. For more information about Deluxe’s data and analytics capabilities, please visit Deluxe.
Presented by: Deluxe
Mortgage loan application volume rebounded from the week prior, increasing by 0.3% for the week ending Sept. 10, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly report. The increase in application volume was largely driven by purchase mortgage activity, which grew by 8% from the week prior, the MBA said.
Not surprisingly, the refi index has continued to slip, dipping 3% from the previous week, the MBA noted.
Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said that purchase mortgage application volume is currently at its highest level since April 2021.
“Compared to the same week last September, which was right in the middle of a significant upswing in home purchases, applications were down 11%– the smallest year-over-year decline in 14 weeks,” Kan said.
He also noted that volume for both conventional and government purchase applications increased last week, as did the average loan size for a purchase application, rising to $396,800.
As much as I’ve learned about money in the past five years, and as much as I like to share what I’ve learned, there are still times when I fail to follow my own advice.
As I’ve mentioned, we live in a hundred-year-old house. This is a great and terrible thing. The house is beautiful and full of character, but it’s also a pain in the ass. In the six years we’ve lived here, one of the pains we’ve encountered repeatedly is the sewer line. About once a year, the thing clogs. But in the past year, it’s clogged more like once a quarter.
Generally, we’re able to handle the clogs on our own. We pour a little drain cleaner into the toilet or bathtub, and things magically work out on their own. But the recent clogs have been unresponsive to the magic of modern chemistry. In March, I finally broke down and called in a plumber. The plumber worked his magic, charged me 300 bucks, and asked if I wanted his boss to come give me a bid on repairing the sewer line.
“Sure,” I said.
The next day, a man named Jeremy showed up with his fancy equipment to scope out the problem with our line. Turns out the old concrete sewer pipe was probably laid in the 1940s or 1950s, and has never been repaired or replaced. There’s a section about 90 feet from the house (about 20 feet from the road) that has developed a “belly”: for several feet, the pipe has sunk below the rest of the line. Near this belly, there’s also a break in the line, and tree roots are encroaching. Basically, it’s a mess.
“It’s not a big deal,” Jeremy told me. “It’s easy to replace. Your sewer line is easy to access because it’s in the middle of the lawn. I can probably replace it in a day.” He quoted me a price of $1700.
Over the next couple of weeks, Jeremy called back twice to see if we wanted to spend the $1700 to repair the sewer line. “No,” I said. “Things seem to be okay for now.”
Well, things were okay for a while. Friday, however, the sewer line clogged again, and this time it was very very gross. Dirty water came flooding up into the bathtub. Yuck!
We called the plumber again. A different fellow came out and cleared the line. Because Kris and I were both home, he called us over to look when he’d finished his work. He had a camera 90 feet into the line, and he showed us the very damage that Jeremy had described. And then he said something that was very GRS-y.
“You can replace that five-foot section,” he told us, “but if I were you, I’d think about replacing everything from the sidewalk to the street. It’ll cost more, but if you save up for it, it’ll be more cost-effective in the long run. You’ve got other trees in that area, and they’re likely to cause trouble eventually if you don’t take steps to correct the problems now. And if you have us do all of it at once, it’ll cost less than if we have to repair it in pieces.”
A plumber with advice on budgeting for repairs — I like it!
The real lesson, of course, is not to defer home maintenance. I know this is one of the cardinal rules of home ownership, yet for some reason, I always procrastinate. I think it’s hard for me to spend on something that isn’t really an immediate problem. It’s May — my gutters aren’t overflowing. I just had the drain cleaned — the toilet isn’t clogging. And so on. But as we just learned, what would have cost me $1700 to repair in March will now cost me $2000 because I delayed. (That’s $1700 for the repair and $300 for the most recent visit by the plumber.)
After the plumber left, Kris and I had a chat.
“This is kind of a pattern for you, isn’t it?” she asked. She meant that I have a tendency to ignore warning signs and just hope that things will get better on their own. Last week, I wrote about ignoring warning signs from my computer as it began to fail. I’ve done the same many times in the past with cars, computers, clothing, home repairs, and (worst of all) my personal health. I don’t fix problems when they’re small; as a result, they often become big problems later on.
Basically, I should heed the advice I always give others. To quote Your Money: The Missing Manual:
Just as daily exercise and a sensible diet keep your body healthy and help you avoid costly medical bills, regular home maintenance keeps normal wear-and-tear from developing into problems, and problems from turning into emergencies.
[…]
When we bought our new house in 2004, the home inspector told us that for every dollar we spent on maintenance, we’d avoid roughly $100 in future repairs. He wrote in his inspection report, “In my experience as a professional home inspector, I have looked at hundreds of homes in all age ranges, and I have seen thousands of dollars of damage to homes that could have been avoided by spending $5 to $10 and just a few minutes of work.”
So, Kris and I are going to have some sewer work done.
Right now, we need to decide if we can afford to have the larger section replaced, or whether we’ll just go with the small patch. And if we do replace the longer section, do we tap into emergency savings to do so? I think we might.
It’s tough for me to accept that it’s not just okay, but it’s good to spend on solving small problems. It’s like self-insurance, or an investment in my future. My hope is that you can have the wisdom to learn from my mistakes. If you deal with a small problem before it becomes a big problem, you can save yourself time, money, and hassle.
There’s so little housing stock that even as mortgage rates climb, homes are selling above their asking price, a report by Redfin says.
New home listings are down 25% since last year, sinking beneath 2020 lows, according to the report. Total home listings are down 12%.
This supply slump made monthly homeowner payments skyrocket, but Redfin says, “despite the double dilemma of low inventory and high prices, early-stage homebuyer demand is picking up.”
The amount of home shoppers actually increased compared to last summer: the brokerage company’s seasonally adjusted homebuyer demand index, which measures home tours and other homebuying service requests, increased by 11% this year.
Mortgage applications were also on the rise in June but just dropped again.
The demand index remained below 2020 and 2021 levels, however, as both prices and rates have increased significantly over the past three years.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit an all time low of 2.65% in January 2021. Then it sprung back up, peaking at 7.08% last November. It’s remained high ever since — this week, the average rate was 6.81% according to Freddie Mac.
Home price trends follow a similar pattern: Redfin’s seasonally adjusted data shows a dip in the national median sale price during 2020, when it hit $292,000. Then, it steadily rose until last spring, reaching $415,000. The median price then dipped down slightly. Now, Redfin says, it’s $402,000.
The median asking price is up right now, too, but not by much. It hit $395,725 this month, an increase of only 1.1% from last year.
“Almost every home is getting multiple offers and selling over asking price,” Redfin agent Jeremy Lucas said in the report. “The lack of supply is making it feel almost like 2021 all over again, but higher rates mean bidding wars are happening more in the $500,000 range than the $700,000 range because people can afford less.”
Homebuyer payments, which Redfin calculates using the 4-week rolling average of the median asking price, are shockingly high. Using last week’s average interest rate of 6.71%, Redfin estimates that homebuyers will have to pay $2,622 each month, an increase of 13.6% from the same time last year.
There were only 770,210 homes for sale this month, and listings aren’t rising like they usually do in the summer. Instead, they’ve remained flat all year.
The average home has an average sale-to-list price ratio of 100.1%, meaning homes are selling for slightly more than their asking price. It’s the first time the ratio breached 100% this year.
The “lack of homes for sale is the main reason” for this, the report says, because homebuyers are battling it out in an unusually sparse market.
Have you ever traveled abroad and discovered beautiful, locally made furniture, accessories or art, but had no way to get it back home? The founders of The Citizenry, Carly Nance and Rachel Bentley, decided to combine their love of far away places and beautiful things all while supporting small artisans. Their new line focuses on a new part of the world each season, bringing handcrafted items that represent cultural history and keep ancient techniques alive. The Citiznery’s pieces combine beautiful craftsmanship and elegant design. But most importantly, they also make a positive impact on the communities they work with. I love stumbling upon beautiful pieces that have an equally lovely story behind them!
We were lucky enough to chat with Carly and Rachel. They took us on a narrative journey to Argentina where their super chic leather butterfly chair is designed and handcrafted. To say we are obsessed is an understatement. Here’s their story…
How The Citizenry Was Born
Rachel: The idea really came from our own frustrations trying to find beautifully crafted items for our own homes. We were looking for high quality, handcrafted pieces, from a company serious about social impact and sustainability, at a price that didn’t break the bank.
Carly: We started thinking about the things in our homes that we treasured, and all those items had a story behind them – either the story of the maker or the place where it was from. We wanted to build a brand that celebrates those people and the stories behind the products. We know everyone can’t hop on a plane to Peru or Argentina to go shopping, so we decided to create the next best thing online: the experience of traveling abroad, shopping back alley markets, and accessing the highest quality materials and makers from around the world, at home.
What Influences Design
Carly: Each season we create a new collection inspired by a different corner of the world. We love taking a technique that’s been around for centuries and juxtaposing it with our more modern, minimal style.
Rachel: Working with beautiful, natural materials is also really influential. We pick geographies based on the quality of a particular natural resource. For instance, in Argentina, we work exclusively with the most premium leathers sourced from the rich grasslands of the “pampas” and use vegetable-based tannins to soften and enrich its natural beauty.
The Story Behind the Butterfly Chair
Carly: We went to Argentina to create a statement piece in leather. After spending time in Buenos Aires, we knew we wanted to create our own interpretation of the iconic butterfly chair. Since the design was originally created by two Argentina architects, it seemed only fitting. So we set out to find the best leather workers & chair makers in Buenos Aires. When we met Santiago, the Lead Designer behind the Palermo Leather Workshop, we knew we’d found the perfect partner.
It really is a collaborative design process with our artisan partners. We both bring ideas, pattern and colors to the table to work together to make something we’re all really proud of. It took a year to perfect the copper finish of our butterfly chair – impossible without Santiago’s expertise and commitment – but it’s become one of our absolute favorite pieces in the collection.
Rachel: It’s a small workshop on a quiet, residential street. You enter through this unassuming door to find a workshop with leather working talent like you’ve never seen. The men who craft these chairs are smart, so entertaining, and of course, were models in a previous life. It is Argentina after all! And like all of our partners, they really so become our friends. Any time we go to Argentina we make sure to set aside time for these epic steak dinners, accompanied by more than a few bottles of malbec, at Don Julio’s or La Brigada… just to catch up!
A Favorite Travel Memory
Carly: One of my favorite travel experiences was finding and visiting the Lurin Artisan Cooperative, our weaving partners that create some of my favorite rugs (the Estrellas & Cielo Azul) in the collection. They’re a tiny, incredibly talented group that does everything from start to finish – from picking berries to make the dyes, to hand-spinning the wool and hand-looming these, huge beautiful pieces.
Each rug takes about six weeks to complete. Watching this group execute every detail, you really start to understand why. After spending a day with them, talking about how important it was for them to keep their culture alive through this craft, we knew we had to shine a light on their story and talent.
We could listen to countless hours of storytelling from these two. The people behind these beautifully crafted pieces The Citizenry have collected just makes them that much more special. If you have yet to check out their gorgeous store, head to The Citizenry now. Read more about the quality and details behind each throw, rug and chair, watch videos from their artisan partners and while you’re there, enjoy an exclusive Apartment 34 discount on everything in the shop. Click HERE for exclusive offer!
P.S. We’ve been working with The Citizenry first hand on a very exciting collaboration. Announcement coming very soon!
images c/o The Citizenry
This post is in partnership with The Citizenry. All thoughts and opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting posts that keep Apartment 34’s doors open.
Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own.
How Credible mortgage rates are calculated
Changing economic conditions, central bank policy decisions, investor sentiment and other factors influence the movement of mortgage rates. Credible average mortgage rates and mortgage refinance rates reported in this article are calculated based on information provided by partner lenders who pay compensation to Credible.
The rates assume a borrower has a 700 credit score and is borrowing a conventional loan for a single-family home that will be their primary residence. The rates also assume no (or very low) discount points and a down payment of 20%.
Credible mortgage rates reported here will only give you an idea of current average rates. The rate you actually receive can vary based on a number of factors.
How do I get a mortgage?
When you’re ready to buy a home, you should lock down your mortgage options before you begin house hunting. Having your financing lined up can make the process go smoother, and give you a leg up on other buyers who’ve not yet been prequalified or pre-approved for a mortgage.
Here are the general steps to getting a mortgage:
Get a handle on your finances and credit. Add up your total monthly expenses and subtract them from your total monthly income to see how much you may be able to spend on a monthly mortgage payment. Check your credit score and report to correct any errors on your report and take action if you need to improve your credit score.
Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Although pre-approval doesn’t guarantee the lender will give you a mortgage, it’s a strong indication you’ll be able to qualify for one when the time comes. Having a pre-approval letter can make your offer more attractive to potential sellers.
Comparison shop. Once you’ve had an offer accepted on the house of your dreams, it’s time to compare rates from multiple mortgage lenders. Be sure to compare all the costs of a mortgage, not just the interest rate.
Complete the full application. You’ll need to provide detailed information about your income, savings, monthly expenses, and overall financial situation.
If you’re trying to find the right mortgage rate, consider using Credible. You can use Credible’s free online tool to easily compare multiple lenders and see prequalified rates in just a few minutes.
Have a finance-related question, but don’t know who to ask? Email The Credible Money Expert at [email protected] and your question might be answered by Credible in our Money Expert column.
POP Home Fabric transforms home decor shopping with a user friendly online store, offering premium fabrics and personalized service.
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – July 7, 2023 —
POP Home Fabric, a leading provider of luxury home textiles and textile products, is excited to announce the launch of its eagerly anticipated online store. This development will fundamentally alter how those who enjoy home decor purchase materials.
The goal of POP Home Fabric is to make the process of home decorating simple and enjoyable, for which it has developed a user friendly website (https://pophomefabric.com/) that offers an extensive range of high quality fabrics, making it easy for customers to find the ideal materials for their interior design projects.
The recently released platform offers an easy to understand interface which makes buying easier. The website offers simple navigation across several categories, including outdoor, upholstery, and drapery fabrics. Customers can find the perfect alternative to match their style and preferences thanks to each category’s wide range of fabric choices.
One of the standout features of the POP Home Fabric website is its advanced search functionality. Customers may easily find their desired options by searching for fabrics by color, pattern, material, and even fabric measurements. The platform also gives buyers access to fabric samples, high resolution photos, and complete product descriptions to aid in their decision-making.
CEO of POP Home Fabric says, “We are excited to introduce our innovative online platform, which aims to simplify the fabric shopping experience for our customers.” We aim to empower and thrill our clients by providing a vast selection of top-notch resources and an effortless browsing experience.
POP Home Fabrics is Canada’s first comprehensive Upholstery, Drapery and Home Decor Fabric store. With reliable and exclusive Canadian suppliers, Upholstery fabric in Toronto, Canada is able to deliver high quality upholstery and drapery fabrics for customer’s homes.
Along with a large selection of items and an intuitive layout, POP Home Fabric enjoys offering exceptional customer service. The company’s dedicated staff of specialists is on hand to offer individualized advice and guidance throughout the shopping experience to ensure that customers receive the support they need to fulfill their creative ambitions.
Pop Home Fabrics, is committed to bring personalized customer service to internet shopping.To learn more about POP Home Fabric and to explore their wide selection of premium fabrics, please visit https://pophomefabric.com/.
About POP Home Fabric
POP Home Fabric is a leading premium home fabric and textile product provider. With a wide range of options, including upholstery, drapery, and outdoor fabrics, POP Home Fabric aims to make the fabric shopping experience seamless and enjoyable. With a commitment to exceptional customer service, POP Home Fabric strives to inspire and empower customers in their home decorating journey.
Contact Info: Name: Support Email: Send Email Organization: POP HOME Website: https://pophomefabric.com/
Release ID: 89101792
If you detect any issues, problems, or errors in this press release content, kindly contact [email protected] to notify us. We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 8 hours.
As we scroll our Pinterest feeds and catch up on our favorite blogs this time of year, it seems the most elaborate ideas for gift wrapping just cascade down the screen, like snowflakes falling on a winter’s day. And while we appreciate a good DIY hand-made shibori papers anyone? dip dyed gift tags? let’s not forget about the wonders of washi tape!, with this year’s schedule hello house! hello baby! and only three weeks until Christmas, we can already count on wrapping presents Christmas Eve!
Let’s be real, the holiday sneaks up on the best of us and between decorating, hosting, toasting and oh yeah, shopping for the perfect presents, on top of all of life’s daily duties, we wanted to wrap up our gifts and the year! with something simple, beautiful and most importantly, pretty dang easy! One of the simplest and seriously stunning! ways to do that is to select a gift wrapping theme and stick with it. Trust us, it’ll be anything but boring!!
Start by selecting your preferred color palette. Color themes add cohesiveness and simplicity to tinsel and garlands and ribbons oh my!. We’re in love with the idea of putting a modern spin on holiday decor, so we wrapped our presents up in a crisp white and blue color palette that has us dreaming of a winter wonderland!
With ombre blue and gold starburst wrapping paper as our base, we had tons of fun playing with tone and texture. By mixing in jeweled blues, deep navy, soft gray and of course, silver and gold accents to “holiday” everything up, the whole setting feels incredibly festive, don’t you think?
We also played with nontraditional accoutrements. It’s kinda my favorite part. Forget sticking to stick-on bows though we totally used some of them too! Do you put scotch tape on the bottom of yours and then save them so you can reuse them year after year? Yeah, totally learned that trick from my mom!. But back to other package accessories.
Feathers add a bit of drama and flair and are an easy escape route from perfecting ribbon tying. Another alternative to tons of ribbon? Ornaments! Picked right off our trees, adding a cluster of small ornaments or one big one for impact added a glam element to our stack of gifts. When you string an ornament onto your gift tag, you have yourself a stunner so pretty it’ll be hard for the special recipient to rip it open!
If you’re looking to add a glamorous touch to your decor, a black, gold and copper color palette is a must! We snagged black and white striped wrapping paper mix and match stripe widths for a chic play on print on print!, black & white geometric paper and of course, some super glossy gold and copper paper for a little glitz! Mixed in with petite crisp bows, dramatic black ribbon and metallic string snagged at our local craft store, we went to town creating a bold, luxurious scene!
Since the patterns of these black and white papers really make a statement on their own, we stuck to classic silk ribbons, simple bows – they kinda have a Kate Spade vibe- and even left a couple packages with only a gift tag! We chose a consistent color palette for our ribbons as well, including black, metallics and smoky gray to add an elevated glamour to the look. Our one exception was a geo-print ribbon that added a little extra zing to the already dramatic pattern play. We really just wanted any excuse to go into the craft store and peruse the aisle of ribbons! It’s such a treat to shop fun and gorgeous ribbons, isn’t it? Why is that?!
And don’t forget that presentation is everything, but that doesn’t only apply to presents themselves. Glam up the ground and the area around your gifts with glitzy garlands and faux fur rugs, drizzle ornaments throughout and deck your floor with paper confetti or tinsel! And can we talk about how obsessed we are over these adorable artificial white LED trees from West Elm that are on sale right now?! The added layers and textures really make for a complete package!
We’re definitely feelin’ the holiday spirit after our gift wrapping marathon! We’ll be back later this week for a few more wrapping tips, including how to tie a ribbon without any cuts or twists! We swear it’s not magic- well, kinda. But for now, we wanna know: which theme might you deck the halls in this year?
PS: Last year’s color-blocked gift wrap tutorial is right here!
original photography for apartment 34 by Emily Scott // art direction + styling by for apartment 34 by Bianca Sotelo
This post is in partnership with Zazzle.com. All thoughts and opinions are 100% our own. Thanks for supporting collaboartions we’re excited about and that help keep Apartment 34’s doors open!
We often paint celebrities as larger-than-life personas. The reality is that stars are like the rest of us: they get just as frustrated or cranky when things don’t go their way. From being grilled by paparazzi to getting overwhelmed by enthusiastic admirers, many famous people have become notorious for exhibiting signs of annoyance toward dedicated supporters who fail to recognize boundaries. We’ve put together a list of 12 major celebrities who appear seriously ticked off in various fan encounters.
1. Doja Cat
One Redditor said, “I feel like Doja Cat seems constantly annoyed by her stans or fans, or at the very least her followers on Twitter. Honestly as a fan of her music (I don’t follow her too closely on soc med anymore because she constantly seems on the verge of breaking and I feel bad for her) I would dislike my fans too if I were her… Do you know of any other celebrities who seem annoyed by their fans? Whether the irritation is deserved or not (because, let’s be honest, some stans are incredibly entitled), I want to read some stuffff.”
2. Ana de Armas
One user posted, “Ana de Armas blocked Ana de Armas Updates on Twitter…”
Another user commented, “Sorry to burst your bubble, but the blue check Ana is just another fan account. The profile says ‘not impersonating, not Ana; this is a fan account.’”
One user shared, “Yeah, tbf, a lot of the fan-run accounts on social media are borderline unhinged. The way they take ownership of a person they idolize and drag down anyone who even hints at negativity towards them is just crazy.”
Another commenter said, “Totally. I have a tiny YouTube channel (6k subscribers) that I haven’t updated in 2 years, but I’m already weirded out by the parasocial relationships that occur at even that level. People being vehemently mean or terrifyingly obsessed and thinking they get me on a level no one else does (offer to fly me out to his country and take me to an event I’ve never expressed interest in). I can’t comprehend extrapolating that to the level of stardom someone like Doja, Ana de Armas, etc. has. And if I were a more conventionally attractive person like they are, I’m sure the lascivious, obsessive fans would f*ck my image of the world a bit. I eye-roll at woe-is-me privileged… celebrities as much as anyone but I think, while most right-minded people manage to be kind or at least civil to strangers, waiters, annoying colleagues etc., that energy would quickly wear down given the chance to be a celebrity for a week.”
3. Phoebe Bridgers
One user shared, “Phoebe Bridgers has publicly spoken about being frustrated with her fans, and I think she has some song lyrics about being annoyed or not really knowing how to interact with fans, which I get. Parasocial relationships are weird, and in that position, I wouldn’t be able to cope with being approached by crying people who think they know me or worship me, but they’re literal strangers to me.”
Another user validated the singer’s decision, “She’s so valid for that. I’m so glad she spoke up about it because her fans were being absolutely unhinged. There’s caring about a celebrity and there’s being a nut who needs to get a grip. If you’re posting hate and harassing your ‘fave’ for days on end (when [she was] on the way to her fathers funeral, mind you) because the man she was with isn’t the one you prefer, you need to get professional help. I think if that happened to me as a celebrity, I would completely stop interacting with my fans outside of releasing my art. and that seems to be what Phoebe has done. she used to post a lot on twitter and she’s clearly done engaging on that level anymore.”
4. Frank Ocean
One Redditor shared, “Can’t believe no one’s mentioned Frank Ocean.”
“The obvious answer.” replied another user.
One user added, “He was in a bad record deal and dropped a lot of music in a short time frame to get out of it. Since then he hasn’t really dropped anything at all… When he does drop new Frank Ocean merch, it takes months to ship or doesn’t ship out at all. He very rarely tours and when he does he’s notorious for canceling at the last minute. I think the last thing he did before Coachella was Primavera in 2017, and he dropped out the day of.
…
Cut to now, Frank Ocean is headlining Coachella. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people bought $600+ wristbands and flew across the country to see Frank. He shows up to his set over an hour late. He hardly sings, at all (but when he did my god did he sound amazing). Then, he does like a 30 min DJ interlude in the middle of his set, where he’s just jumping around mouthing (not even lip syncing) the words to his most popular songs. He then runs into curfew and ends the set by basically saying ‘That’s it, bye’.
He was supposed to perform again on weekend 2. Allegedly ‘hurt his foot’ and had to pull out, screwing over all the fans weekend 2. A lot of fans (myself included) speculate he had no intentions on ever performing the 2nd weekend. He apparently had some huge elaborate stage design that was going to be super cool, but pulled it at the very last minute and basically spiraled from there.”
One user shared, “Strangely he has a lot of fans who still seem to worship him regardless and make excuses for his extremely flaky behaviour. I’ve attended Primavera Sound in Barcelona a number of times, and remember in 2017 when he was a headline act (he was the absolute top billing that day and on the first line of the weekend poster for context). He cancelled on the day of his performance at incredibly short notice and cited ‘production issues’ (clearly not the case). He was a huge draw for many people (not me personally, but I might have watched his set)—arguably some travelled to the festival for his appearance alone, many from outside Spain.
“His fans rather rabidly attacked the festival organisers on social media in the immediate aftermath of the cancellation, and for several weeks after, with many vowing to boycott the festival and never attend again, even though it was entirely Ocean’s own doing. It was bizarre.
“That year was also one of the best and most eclectic editions PS in memory even without him….”
5. Justin Bieber
One user posted, “Justin Bieber—he doesn’t like it when fans take videos or pictures of him, but would rather have a real conversation with them without a fan or paparazzi shoving a camera in his face. His frustration and annoyance is understandable, especially when fans/paparazzi yell rude things about his wife Hailey or ask ridiculous questions about Selena Gomez.”
Another Redditor replied, “He was also heavily [‘admired’] by his adult fans when he was just a tween.”
One user commented, “Yikes, this too. I was around eight or nine when he first got popular and I remember hearing 20 to 30 year olds thirsting over him. Back then I thought it was normal to have adults talk about him this way because he was famous and seemed so ‘grown up’ to me because I was still a kid. Now that I’m a lot older, remembering this makes me cringe.”
Another user added,”Not only that, but there was also PLENTY of 20-30 even 40+ year old men publicly and constantly calling for violence and… threats against him. Like, dude even if you genuinely disliked him, he was a child?…”
6. Adam Driver
One user also shared, “Adam Driver but that is because so many of them do not know how boundaries work. One of them climbed onto the stage and tried to follow him backstage after a performance of Burn This. A bunch of them say horrible things about his wife and/or wish he was with Daisy Ridley.”
Another user replied, “I saw him on the subway, sunglasses on. He noticed that I noticed him for a brief second, and then I looked away and minded my business. It’s weird in NY. Celebrities can blend in a lot easier.”
7. Leonardo DiCaprio
One Redditor commented, “Leonardo DiCaprio. I don’t think he is annoyed/irritated by his fans but he does seem to be over the media part of it and has been for a long time. I think he gave an interview about the craziness of Titanic and he realized that he didn’t want to be THAT famous, where everyone is following you around. He still wears a mask in public and I know celebrities don’t care about COVID that much lol. He takes his acting and his acting career seriously and I noticed he rarely gives interviews anymore. He seems to be aiming for an ‘old school’ actor legacy.”
Another user replied, “He didn’t seem okay with all the attention back in the 90s either.”
One commenter added, “He appears very closed off to the public and media and despite his millions seems down to earth, shy and funny in the interviews and snippets we have seen and is also very talented and seemingly professional at his job; of course we don’t know him personally but his co stars seem to sing his praises. His dating life overshadows everything else atm. We don’t know anything about the relationship itself, there’s barely any photos. All we know is there’s a pattern of dating someone for 5 years from 20-25 which is weird… But there is an air of mystery around Leo and he’s unproblematic otherwise so I can still enjoy him as an actor for now; his PR team are amazing tbh.”
8. Mitski
One user commented, “Mitski. I wouldn’t say she hates her fans but I think she’s annoyed with a particular group of them. She’s very disappointed about the ‘sad girl’ label they stamp on her music. On Twitter, she expressed frustrations about people recording her concerts the whole time instead of being engaged in the performance. In true Twitter fashion, she got a lot backlash for that…smh…”
Another user added, “The recording epidemic is so real, it’s one thing to record your fave parts, it’s another to literally watch the entire show through your phone screen in the first row. I grew up going to punk shows where people didn’t rly record like that because they were too busy moshing and crowdsurfing (and pre TikTok which might make a difference I guess) and now I’m into indie/indie pop and it’s crazyyy the difference.”
9. Joseph Quinn
One Redditor posted, “Joseph Quinn. He definitely has to be irritated by them.”
Another commenter said, “I’ll never understand why people became just so unhinged around him, it must have been wild to go from largely unknown to so famous you need security.”
One user asked, “PLEASE. THIS. I asked it in another thread and I never really got an answer. HOW did he get such an unhinged fanbase? He had a side role on one season of Stranger Things, but the dedication he’s inspired is like Supernatural cast level.”
One Redditor answered, “I think part of it is when TikTok chooses their Boy Of The Month they all hype each other up/one up each other. Look at how much Bo Burnham or Pedro Pascal blew up once TikTok got into them. It builds off its own attention.”
Another user also added, “Stranger things fandom is majority teens/kids/young adults whose brains aren’t fully developed yet and are extremely parasocial with the cast and always have been since the show began. Unfortunately Joseph and the other new cast members are just their latest victims. With Joseph he’s obviously really impressing executives and producers lately with all the recent castings for him so at least he’ll be free of that overall fandom soon. I feel bad for the rest of the cast that are still in the show for another season and have to still deal with the fans, because every year it just seems to get worse.”
10. Robert Pattinson
One user shared, “Robert Pattinson regards Twilight and its fandom with a delicious mixture of disdain and bewilderment.”
Another user added, “As do I.”
One user commented, “I was a huge twihard from 2009-2012 and I remember the fandom trying to make ANY excuse to prove to ourselves that he didn’t hate the movies lmao.”
11. Ian Somerhalder
One Redditor posted, “Ian Somerhalder went through a phase of yelling at fans lol. And I’m pretty sure he never completed things like virtual chats/ video greetings/and autographs he owed fans who paid for a package during some convention.”
One user replied, “True I remember reading on Twitter about fans who bought greetings and he never did them and they still have not gotten refunds and he just kept on making up excuses. Also back in the days I think he canceled an irl fan event last minute and said he had other plans that came up last minute, but it was a lie because he had known for weeks that he couldn’t go and decided to tell the fans last minute and people had already booked flights, hotels etc so that must have sucked for them. He seems to be a bit messy.”
12 Paramore
One Redditor commented, “Paramore. They don’t hate/dislike their fans, but they explore the parasocial relationship in After Laughter. The song ‘Idle Worship’ is about Hayley seeing a fan with a shirt on her face and the immediate disconnect she felt. To have a perfected version of her plastered on shirts I think made her uncomfortable because she doesn’t feel like she can be the person everyone wants her to be. She’s just a normal person. The next song on the album is ‘No Friend’ which is the outro to Idle Worship and features mewithoutYou’s Aaron Weiss. Weiss chronicles the band’s very public hardships and also reads a long email Hayley sent him about Idle Worship. ‘You see a flood-lit form / I see a shirt design / I’m no savior of yours and you’re no friend of mine.’ Chills. Every. Single. Time.”
Do you agree with the list above? Share us your thoughts and leave a comment!
Source: this Reddit thread.
These are 10 Things That Completely Destroyed The Love in a Relationship
There’s no question that relationships can be confusing, but here are some of the top things to avoid if you want to keep your relationship healthy!
10 Actors and Actresses People Refuse to Watch Ever Again
We all have a favorite actor or actress, but most of us have a least-favorite as well. Check out this list of actors and actresses people never want to see performing again!
Top 10 Worst Human Inventions of All Time
Some inventions are world-changing, and some of them, well, they change the world in the wrong ways. Here are some of the worst inventions Redditors could think of.
10 Famous Celebrities Who Look Like They Smell Terrible
We’ve all had moments of hygiene faux pas—but these celebrities just look like they don’t take care of themselves at all.
10 Terrible Fads People Are Glad Died Out
Every fad has its time in the limelight, but some of them come and go faster than others; and some just need to die out right away. Check out this list of fads of which people were happy to see the last.